Ghosts
by autumnassassin
Summary: Sirius has just passed through the veil and Harry is heartbroken. He sits in front of the veil, wishing for Sirius to reappear. However, he and others around him are in for the shock of their lives as their loved ones start appearing from the veil, led by a girl no one recognizes. AU, Dumbledore/some Weasley bashing.
1. Chapter 1

Harry sat down in front of the veil and refused to move. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked gently back and forth. They all took turns, but Harry refused to move.

"Harry, Harry come on. Sirius isn't coming back." Hermione said, her voice thick with tears. She reached down and touched his shoulder. Harry threw off her hand and continued sitting there. Waiting for what he knew was never going to happen.

"Leave the boy be. He needs to figure this out on his own." Moody's voice made it through to Harry's grief filled mind. Distantly, he thanked him, but continued sitting there.

Suddenly, he stopped rocking. Faintly, he could see a figure in the veil. He didn't say a word though as the figure became clearer.

It wasn't Sirius.

Instead it was a girl, about his own age. She looked at Harry curiously.

Harry narrowed his eyes and darted around to the other side of the arch to see if someone was standing there. No one was.

He darted back to the front. The girl was still there, still looking.

"Moody, Moody come here." Harry said hoarsely.

Moody clomped his way over, "What is it?"

"Do you see her?"

"Who?"

Harry pointed at the veil, "That girl."

Moody's normal eye widened while his magical one whizzed around, "Indeed I do. Strange, never has this happened before."

She eyed Moody with a bit of wariness in her eyes, but Moody got that look from everyone. Suddenly, she walked off.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"No idea, best to move away though. No one's sure how this thing works." Moody started to follow his own advice when he suddenly stopped. Harry had turned around to walk away, so he got the slightly comical opportunity to see Moody's face. His mouth had gone slack in surprise and Harry could read the open shock on his face.

Harry assumed it came from the veil and was surprised to see the girl was back, but this time with two other women. One was older, and the other was clearly her daughter.

"Moody?" Harry asked. He didn't answer, but continued staring at the veil.

"Caitlyn? Lauren?" he asked softly.

The first girl looked at the two women next to her, then at Moody, who was still moving his mouth up and down resembling a fish.

Then she bit her lip and shoved the other two women. Both Harry and Moody scrambled backwards in surprise.

What was even more surprising was that the two passed through to their side. Harry couldn't help but stare at the two translucent women in front of him.

Moody seemed to have been shocked into silence.

"Alastor." The older one spoke tenderly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all! Thanks for following! Please review, I appreciate most comments (pure mean ones are not appreciated) Sorry it may seem a little slow, but slow and steady win the race right? Not that I'm in a race….. Anyhoos, enjoy!

"Impossible. You died, this is some Dark magic!" Moody denied, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Dad?" the younger asked, confused, "You're old."

Moody continued to deny the existence of the two in front of him.

By now, others were wandering over in curiosity, but when they saw the two spirits, they stopped as well.

"What's going on here?" that was Dumbledore who had finally decided to join them, "Alastor, what's going on?" he pushed his way to the front of the small crowd.

"Impossible." He breathed out.

"Dad, why are you old? Why am I old? I'm supposed to turn 11 next month and go to Hogwarts. Instead I look like mom and you." the girl asked confused.

"Caitlyn." Moody choked out.

"Yes dad?" she asked.

The older one laid her hand on Caitlyn's shoulder, "Go join the others. Go back and rest."

"Yes mum. Bye dad." She waved and then walked back through the veil.

Harry looked behind the women to see the girl looking hopefully out. She welcomed Caitlyn back in and then gently pushed her to the side. Then she continued to watch hopefully. When she saw Harry staring at her, she gave a small wave.

Harry hesitantly waved back.

"Oh Alastor. We missed out on so much."

"Lauren, you…you died. I couldn't save you. Either of you."

Lauren nodded sadly, "I know. If it helps, Caitlyn passed quickly."

Dumbledore stepped forward, putting a hand on Moody's shoulder, "Who are you and what is your purpose?" he asked in a powerful voice.

"Dumbledore. I had hoped you were done meddling." Lauren said disdainfully.

"Explain yourself."

"Simple. There was a great pull. We followed our guide who provided us with one last opportunity to see our loved ones before we pass. Joelle was just a little eager for us to meet him once more." She explained. Then she turned to Moody. She stepped forward, regardless of the raised wands and cupped his cheek.

"It isn't your time yet. You have a journey ahead of you. I love you, and Caitlyn and I are waiting for you once it is your time. Caitlyn can't wait to go on another adventure." She smiled sadly and kissed Moody's forehead. Someone shot a stunner spell at her, but it simply passed through her body, hitting some loose rocks.

She ignored it and the reaction, "See you later Alastor." She smiled once more and stepped back into the veil, going out of sight.

Moody just stared after her.

Dumbledore also seemed at a loss, so Tonks stepped up, gestured for Kingsley to join her, and between the two of them, managed to get Moody out.

Harry looked back at the girl, Joelle, she had a thoughtful look on her face, looking at someone, although Harry couldn't tell who.

She hurried off to the side, and some people used the opportunity to either escape out another door or come closer.

When she came back, again with two figures, Molly Weasley let out a strangled cry.

Harry hadn't even noticed she had shown up.

The two stepped forward through the veil, and it became clearer who they were. They looked like older versions of the Fred and George.

"Hello Molly." The one on the right said.


	3. Chapter 3

So, I actually thought about waiting to upload, but figured I'd just put it up anyways. I think my plans for updating will end up being once a week, probably on Saturdays. I have band camp next week, and that is exhausting, but we don't practice on Saturdays, so I should have recovered by then. I already have written ahead (yeah for me!) so the chapters should slowly get longer. Anyways, on to the reading!

"Fabian, Gideon, how…?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a voice full of tears.

"Like Lauren explained, Joelle got us." The one on the left said.

"Molly, you need to stop." The one on the right said.

"If Harry and Ginny are meant for each other, then they will get together. Trying to force it will not work." The left said.

Molly's face drained of colour, even as Harry and Ginny looked at each other confused, "How do you know about that?"

"We're dead Molly, we can go pretty much wherever we want. Even if you can't see us." The right said.

"But, Fabian…"

"No Molly." The left said, so that one was Gideon, "There is no excuse for it. If you stop now, the two might forgive you. Rip up the contract."

The two turned their backs on Molly and looked at the other Weasleys' in the room, "So this must be one of our nephews. Ron I think." Fabian said.

Ron nodded, looking pale, "How, how are you two here?"

"Someone had a strong will, and Joelle is stubborn." Gideon answered.

"George, Fred." Fabian asked, the twins looked up in slight awe, after all, the twins in front of them could be a much older version of themselves, "Follow your dreams. Everybody needs a bit of light in dark times."

Fred and George looked very pleased with themselves.

"Farewell all. We love you guys. Dumbledore, stay out of business that you have no business in." the two advised before re-entering the veil.

"Okay, enough, everyone out." Dumbledore tried to command.

Harry meanwhile, was still looking at Joelle, and as he said this, her expression turned panicky, and she rushed out one side. Harry tried to go slowly, trying to stall for Joelle, even as Dumbledore took ahold of his arm and tried to pull him along. He just had something inside of him that was screaming at him to wait. For some reason, he felt like this girl could be trusted. It was the strangest thing, he had followed his instincts many times before, but that had led to Sirius' death, and under normal circumstances, he would have ignored his Gryffindor-ish tendencies, but he knew he could trust Joelle. If asked to ecplain why, he couldn't, but he just knew. So, he had to stall long enough for her to bring back whoever she needed to. Or wanted too.

"Stop Albus." A girl's voice said. Dumbledore instantly froze, "Miss me big brother? Because I don't. I'm sad I died, but glad I'm out of your influence."

Harry jerked out of Dumbledore's grip, which wasn't that hard considering it had gone slack, and turned around to face a young girl, looking tired and a little angry.

"Ariana." Dumbledore whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everybody! I don't really have anything for today; band camp pretty much drained me of everything. Concerning Joelle, I do have a definitive plan of who she is and why she is important, so she isn't just some random OC. I did think about making her one of the founders' daughters (was leaning towards Slytherin) and then decided on a (hopefully) better idea.

Apparently, it didn't save this chapter, sorry about it being a day late.

"Albus." She said in a sort of greeting in response to Dumbledore, "I understand you are upset about my death and all, but manipulating a young boy, especially for some idiotic prophecy, is not the way to recover. If you really wanted to stop Tom, you should have done so while the boy was in school. You had all the signs, Horace even came and told you about Tom asking about the horcruxes. Albus, we love you, but your schemes have gone far enough. Let the boy have a life." she looked so sad, so disappointed, that Dumbledore could do nothing more than nod faintly. He was staring at Ariana and was barely blinking, drinking in her appearance; she didn't look any different than from when she had died.

Inwardly, he was fuming, the boy had a future! One he could not forsake! Yet, his baby sister was asking him to stop, perhaps she was right, perhaps she did have a point, but he couldn't. He straightened up; he had no time for dead sisters, real or not. He had a plan, one that would solve everyone's problems. Harry just had to be sacrificed.

Ariana stared at him for a long time, and Dumbledore started to feel uneasy. Perhaps she could read his thoughts? No, no, she wasn't real. With that thought, he resolved to listen to nothing anything that came out of that veil said.

"Goodbye everyone." She whispered in the same sad tone she had used since she had arrived.

When she went through, Joelle ushered her off to the side and stared out again. Apparently, whatever she saw did not please her, because she made a face and then disappeared once more out the side.

This time however, she didn't seem to come back.

Everybody else started drifting away, talking among themselves and giving the veil strange looks.

"Come along Harry, best we get away." Molly Weasley came over and tried to pull Harry along.

He pulled his arm out of her grip, whatever her brothers had said had obviously meant something between him and Ginny, and he really didn't want to be around her right now.

"I'm not going anywhere. She's gonna come back."

"Frankly, it'd be better if she didn't. This is strange stuff; we shouldn't be messing with it." She said nervously, giving the veil second looks.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." he finally snapped. Shocked, she let him go.

He supposed she was just about to berate him, but Remus came up and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave Harry alone Molly. Now is not the time." He said firmly.

Molly and Remus started to argue, so Harry used it to his advantage to slip from Remus' grasp and step in front of the veil again.

Almost desperately, he waited, hoping she could bring Sirius back.

Suddenly, she was back, literally dragging two figures. Harry felt his heart jump into his throat.

"Harry, get away from there." Dumbledore reappeared and grasped his arm firmly and started to drag him away. Dumbledore had to stop all this madness, Harry would start getting ideas, and that couldn't happen.

"No! No! I want to talk to them!" he struggled against Dumbledore's grasp, looking desperately at the two figures, hoping they would come out. HE could see vague details and was hopiong it wasn't just his imagination.

Harry was so set on looking at the two figures as they were pushed through that he failed to notice that Joelle's hands passed through the veil, having a semi-solid look about them. She snatched them back and nervously examined them, then the people around her.

But no one was paying any attention to her. Because the two she had pushed out were Lily and James Potter.


	5. Chapter 5

Man, school starts on Tuesday, my senior year, and I'm already freaking out. Oh well, I've got to grow up eventually, even if I don't want to. So school starting shouldn't change the schedule. So everything should continue on as normal (or at least as normal as school can be).

Lily and James looked annoyed, although everyone could see the barest hints of pain in their eyes as they looked around at everyone.

"We shouldn't be here." James said, Lily nodding in agreement.

"Mum, dad…" Harry was shocked. His parents were standing in front of him, this was his deepest desire, but they didn't want to be here? He started tearing up even as he tried to hold the tears back.

"Oh Harry, we didn't mean we don't want to be here, it's just that we have passed." Lily rushed to console him, looking like she was about to step forward and then thinking better of it.

"Passed?" Harry looked at the two in confusion, "What do you mean passed? You were murdered!"

They nodded sadly, and James spoke, "Yes, but it was our time. We have been watching over you though. But we can't come back. We can't stay for very long as it is."

"But mum, dad!" Harry cried, reaching out for them.

"Harry, we can't come back. It is impossible. Same with Sirius. It was his time." Lily said, crying as she said it.

"What we can do is send someone else to assist you though. But that is all we can do, we are pushing it even with this." James said, wrapping an arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Who?" Harry asked cautiously.

They gave small smiles, "You haven't met her, not exactly." Lily began.

"It's Joelle. She is strange, for a ghost. She is truly stuck in between the living and the afterlife. She can be of service to you." James said, a faint smile on his face.

Harry looked past his parents to see Joelle looking at them with an 'are-you-serious?' look. It was quite funny and Harry couldn't contain the snigger that came out.

"She is trustworthy. Even if she can come across as a bit, well, rude. She's just extremely blunt." Lily said, glancing back at Joelle.

"No." it was the first anyone had spoken since Lily and James came out, and no surprise it was Dumbledore who spoke out, "We don't know if you are even real. You are probably a result of dark magic."

Lily rolled her eyes, "There is no such thing as 'dark' magic. It's just magic. It all depends on how you use it."

Everyone looked at her with disbelief and she rolled her eyes again, "Pure-bloods." She whispered in a conspiratory tone to Harry.

Harry couldn't help but smile and agree. The purebloods were a little close-minded.

"Now Harry, know that we love you. We always have, always will. Re-evaluate your friends. And for goodness sakes, think for yourself!" Lily said, "Half the time with watching you, I'm agonizing over your choices! Some adults are trustworthy you know, especially Amelia Bones."

James interrupted, "No, Amelia hangs out with Joelle now."

"Oh, right, forgot about that. Unfortunately, we can't bring her back, the government would be in too much of a riot, if that happened." Lily mused, tapping her chin with one finger, "Although, they already are a bunch of idiots."

Several people in the room let out quiet laughs while the ministry officials glared around them.

"I suppose that only leaves us with sending Joelle out. She may not be very happy, but she should understand." James said, looking back at Joelle. She stuck her tongue out at him.

James responded in kind before turning back, "This is it son. We love you and are very proud that you have turned out to be the amazing young man you are, now you just need to fix your mistakes."

Harry had tears in his eyes now, but he nodded, not trusting his voice.

His parents smiled sadly at him and came forward and wrapped him in a hug. It felt like a blast of freezing air, and when they let go, Harry's teeth were chattering and he was shivering, but he had a huge smile on his face.

They smiled sadly before reentering the veil. Harry couldn't help but feel a little it of anticipation and fear as he watched the three talk. Hopefully Joelle could help him.


	6. Chapter 6

_So, first week of senior year is through! And man, I am already exhausted. But, I've got the chapter ready!_

_Also, if anyone spots any mistakes, feel free to point it out, spell-check isn't all powerful. And, please review! They make me feel like people actually enjoy the story!_

Everyone watched with baited breath as the three figures clearly started to argue, although it looked more like Joelle was complaining.

Then Lily and James shoved her out.

She stumbled out and turned to stick her tongue out at the two, but they just waved merrily at her. Then they looked around at the people still in the room and gave them one final parting sad smile, accompanied by a wave. Then they faded into nothing.

Joelle turned around to face the room, and simply said, "Hi."

She looked alive. She looked more solid than any of the other ghosts for one, and two, Harry didn't feel the same freezing cold as when his parents had hugged him as she approached him.

"How come you look, well, alive?" Harry asked hesitantly. He didn't want to offend her.

She glanced down at herself with some surprise and then shrugged, "Dunno. Probably something to do with magic." Then she looked around the room, "Okay, show's over. Let's go, let's move." She said, effectively startling everyone.

For a moment, no one moved though, and Harry could see Joelle face reveal her frustration. She raised her hands in a threatening manner, and all the ministry officials fled quickly.

All that was left was the Order. However they all seemed to be in shock, so no one tried to stop Joelle as she floated/drifted/walked, Harry was unsure of how to describe it. She was moving her legs but she wasn't really walking.

She looked back at Harry, her brown hair falling in her face, "Well? You coming?"

That shocked Harry enough to simply follow her out.

None of the order members followed them.

They passed through the Department of Mysteries rather quickly, something which had Harry surprised. He would have expected the place to be teeming with aurors, but no one was around.

Harry couldn't stand the silence, but at the same time, he didn't know what to say to Joelle, "So, ah, do you know where everybody is?"

Her answer surprised him, "Of course, they're all hiding. The news of what happened at the arch spread and they've got their fancy-schmancy spells and all it tells them that there are one and a half people heading their way." She shrugged, "They assume you're Dumbledore who has somehow found some great amazing wizard who can get rid of Tom."

"And where are we going?" Harry asked a little warily.

"Back to your aunt's house. We, well you really, need to be there for at least around two weeks. Don't worry, it won't be spent sitting in your room doing nothing. I hate wasting time."

"Do we have to go back there?" Harry asked, hearing disappointment creep into his voice.

"Contrary to what you think, there is some necessity for going there. I have to speak with your aunt about something, and the wards really are helpful, at least for now."

"Wards?" Harry asked confused.

"Why do you think no one has been able to find you? As much as Dumbledore wants Voldemort dead, and willing to use pretty much anyone to achieve that, he does care about you."

"What do you mean? He's no help." Harry muttered darkly.

"Think about it this way. If he really wanted to only use you, he could have kept you himself and spent your entire life training. You would really be his puppet then. What he was trying to do was give you a childhood. He failed, yes, but he tried." Joelle explained, ushering him into the elevator.

"So you're saying I should just forgive him?" Harry exploded, his magic making the elevator tremble and the lights flicker.

Joelle eyed him, "I must point out that if your magic makes this elevator plummet down, you will die and I will have come out for nothing. And it wouldn't even hurt me."

Harry glared at her, but did take some deep breaths.

"Much better. Frankly, I don't care if you forgive him or not. That's your decision. What you should do is at least be able to work with him. Albus Dumbledore is human so he makes mistakes, just like the rest of you, but he is also very powerful. He's a useful ally." The elevator dinged and opened its door as she finished.

Harry grumbled under his breath and glared at her.

Joelle ignored the glare and gracefully walked/floated out. Harry stood for a moment, glaring through her semi-transparent back before stalking after her.


	7. Chapter 7

_So, second week done, and they already have us thinking about college! I have to say, absolutely terrifying! Mainly because I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Band as usual, is also awful, they had us marching around in 100 degree weather and I'm pretty sure I would have killed someone if they had continued on for much longer. But, I did get the chapter out!_

_Also to Potterphil: Yeah, I'm not entirely happy about the chapter lengths, I would prefer them being a lot longer with more detail, however, as I am currently writing and posting, that's not really possible. My goal is to work my way up to a longer chapter._

"And how will you explain yourself to the people who see you? Better yet, how are we going to get back to my aunt's?" Harry asked after a minute of walking in silence.

Joelle grinned, "Oh this is going to be fun." Then she did her little float/walk thing over to him and sort of grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing…?" then Harry was screaming as they shot off.

It seemed to last a lifetime for Harry, even though he knew that realistically, it only took a few seconds before his world finally calmed down. Harry staggered away from Joelle and lost the contents of his stomach. He even stood there for a little bit just dry heaving.

When he finally got ahold of himself, he straightened and glared at Joelle who still had that maddening grin on her face, "What was that?" he demanded to know, "That was worse than a portkey!"

Joelle laughed, "Oh, that was exhilarating! I couldn't wait to do that!"

"What was that?"

"Oh, right, that was a ghost's form of travel. A bit dangerous for me to take a live person with me, but I figured it would be better than wasting money." She explained, ignoring Harry, "Let's go talk to your aunt!"

She almost had a bounce in her step as she walked away. Harry hadn't even noticed where they had landed, and he grudgingly allowed himself to feel a little impressed. He glanced at the spot where he had been sick, inwardly debating, and then decided he could do with a little entertainment. No doubt Joelle, a semi-ghost and his aunt, the most muggle muggle he knew, would get along fabulously.

Yeah right.

"Why didn't you just land us in their living room if you really wanted to make an entrance?" Harry asked curiously as they walked past Mrs. Figg's house.

"Well, I knew you wouldn't react to the transport in the best way and figured it would be better if we didn't have to deal with your aunt's temper as well. I wasn't even sure it would work to be honest."

"Excuse me?"

Joelle shrugged, "There was a distinct possibility that it could have just killed you. It's only meant for ghosts or people soon to be dead. And everyone on the other side agrees that you've got awhile to go before you really kick the bucket."

"You mean you could have killed me?" Harry stopped, shocked.

He could see her roll her eyes, "Oh, don't be so dramatic. Death isn't that bad. Besides, you aren't supposed to die yet."

"How is that supposed to be comforting? Yet? What does that mean?" Harry still stared after her incredusly.

"Well, everyone dies eventually. It's not that big of a deal. Now hurry up, I've got an aunt to scare."

Harry eyed her for a moment. It may have not been said in ill-intent, but Harry suddenly wished she hadn't come out.

Joelle was waiting for him at the front door, gesturing for him to hurry up.

Harry rolled his eyes at her, "What's the rush? It's not like they are going anywhere. Or maybe you're going to scare them to death!"

She rolled her eyes back, "Don't be silly Harry. Of course not. And, I know, but I got some really good advice on how to handle her, and I've been following her around all year, I know how she works." Joelle replied.

"Then why don't you waltz in?" Harry asked, exasperated by her attitude.

"I don't know how to waltz. And I thought it would be better if you went first, try to calm them down before I arrive. I expect lots of screaming." Joelle said reflectively.

Harry rolled his eyes again at her antics before opening the front door, "Aunt Petunia? Uncle Vernon? Anyone home?"

"What do you want boy?" his aunt's sharp voice replied, "You aren't supposed to be back from that freaky school yet! I hope you haven't caused trouble!"

Harry mentally rolled his eyes, it would be bad if she caught sight of him.

"Of course not Aunt." He lied, "But you may want to come see this."

There was a pause, then he heard grumbles and then finally the shifting noises of her getting up. She stalked out into the hallway.

"What is it?" she asked sharply, "I was reading."

He ignored the lie and said, "I want you to at least contain your screaming, which may be hard for you, but do try."

She shot him a scathing look, "What is it?"

He opened the front door with a flourish, "This is Joelle, she's a ghost." Joelle waved with that maddening grin on her face and came in.

Petunia did scream, and it was not pleasant.


	8. Chapter 8

_I am so sorry this late! Last week was Labour Day so we went out of state to visit my grandparents, my grandpa isn't in good health so it's a blessing every moment we have with him and yesterday there was just so much going on! Again, I'm really sorry!_

_Also, I would really appreciate reviews, they do make me happier, knowing people actually bothered to respond, even if it is just a correction._

"Ah jeez Aunt Petunia! Don't let the neighbor's hear!" Harry said, covering his ears. He glanced at Joelle and was confused to see her grinning.

"Oh Petunia. Petunia Rosemary Evans." Joelle said, still with that grin. If Harry was in Petunia's shoes, he would be heading in the opposite direction of Joelle.

"What? Who? Freak!" Petunia finally sputtered.

"Now, now Petunia, that's not something a respectable lady should say." Joelle admonished, "In fact, your sister is very disappointed in you. So are your parents."

Petunia paled, "Impossible. You look like…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Joelle waved off whatever Petunia was about to say, but it just made Harry look up in interest, "Now Petunia, we need to have some girl-to-girl talk. Harry, head up to your room. Don't be too worried if you hear things." Joelle dismissed him.

"Why can't I stay?" Harry asked hurt.

Joelle turned to him, "Unless you want to hear the most private of girl things, I suggest you leave. Write letters to your friends, or even better meditate. That will definitely help you with your erratic core."

Harry turned a deep red as he imagined exactly what Joelle was talking about before making his way to his room quickly. He would rather be locked in his room all summer than listen to girl conversations. Even if one was dead.

As he shut his door, he heard his Aunt Petunia scream again. Briefly he wondered if Joelle was torturing her, but then figured his aunt disserved it. Then he doubted himself again and turned to open his door once more but Joelle appeared right in front of him, making him jump back in shock and fall on the ground.

"I swear to you right now, I will not hurt your Aunt." Joelle said before disappearing once more. Harry stared at the floor where she had disappeared for a moment before taking a deep breath, if she swore, than he figured it had to be legitimate.

Hopefully.

Harry stared around his room in absolute boredom. He had nothing with him. That's when it really hit him and he collapsed backwards onto his bed.

Sirius was gone, he had just seen his parents, and now he had a slightly annoying ghost to deal with. Plus, Dumbledore was lying to him and Mrs. Weasley had apparently done something between him and Ginny. And he had walked out of the Ministry of Magic because a ghost had told him so! He hadn't even gone back to the school to get his stuff!

Harry groaned and flung an arm over his eyes. A ghost! He was dealing with a ghost! A slightly pretty ghost too, dark hair, hazel eyes…

"Wait a second, what am I doing?" Harry asked the empty room, "She's dead! Stop thinking about her!" he scolded himself.

"I hope you aren't talking about me, beause now we need to do some serious planning." Joelle's voice said.

Harry sat up quickly. Joelle had one eyebrow quirked as a slight smile settled on her face, she leaned, sort of, against the bedroom wall, waiting for an answer.

"Ah, no?" Harry tried.

"Wow, you suck at lying. Maybe that will be what I first teach you." Joelle said in response, "So, I got your Aunt all figured out. She'll actually treat you normal now. Well, normal-ish. At least better."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "How…?"

Joelle waved his question off, "Not important right now. What is important is improving you. First thing, where's your wand?"

Harry pulled it out of his pocket in answer to her question.

Joelle groaned, "Of course. Tomorrow, we are getting a wand holster."

"How? I can't exactly get there." Harry asked, rolling his eyes at Joelle.

"Three options, one, use my travel again," Harry actually shivered at the prospect of having to use that horrible thing again, "Two, the knight bus, or three, the creepy old lady down the street has a floo."

"Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yeah, her, crazy kneazle lady. Absolutely insane, but she does have a floo."

"Aren't there any normal options? You know, ones that don't involve me potentially dying?" Harry asked exasperated.

Joelle gave him a look and Harry instantly back tracked, "Ah, why don't we just use Mrs. Figg's floo?"

Joelle gave a small nod, "We will have to wait until she leaves though, otherwise she will try to stop us, well, you really because there is no way she could stop me."

"You mean break in? But that's illegal!" Harry protested.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Sometimes you have to do illegal things. Besides, she never locks her kitchen door; you won't even have to break anything." Joelle assured Harry.

"Great." Harry deadpanned.

Joelle ignored him, "Next thing we need to do is work on your physical training. You are a stick!"

"I play quidditch!" Harry protested weakly, knowing that somehow, she was going to find a fault in it.

"Yes, you rock at flying, got that, but you can't run worth squat. So, you are going to go jogging around the block every morning."

Harry groaned. He was right.

"Then, I'm going to get you better at magic, where it isn't so erratic. Your grades are abysmal at times and your mum really wanted me to correct that, so we are going to work on that as well. Also, she wanted me to improve your potion skills, you've barely been scraping by apparently."

Harry groaned, falling back onto his bed, at the thought of school work, especially potions.

"Eventually, I will teach you how to destroy Tom."

She said it so casually that it actually took Harry a second to register it. When he did, it sat up very quickly, "Defeat Voldemort? Are you serious?"

"Of course." Joelle held up a semi-transparent hand to stop his questions before he could even think of any, "I'm not telling you now because you will rush off and end up getting yourself killed. Frankly, it should only take about a month to get suitably prepared, coincidentally the same amount of time you need to stay here. After that, we will really get to work." She finished in a serious tone.

Harry nodded, just happy with the fact that someone was finally working with him on defeating Voldemort.

"Now, get some sleep, we have a lot to do starting tomorrow." Joelle ordered. Harry quickly followed and waited for her to disappear before changing. As soon as he laid down, he was asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

_So I might just change my update time to Monday's because my dad decided to turn off the internet for the laptop I was using. It is a big pain in the butt for when I need to do schoolwork now. Hope you enjoy this chapter, please review!_

"Wake up!" a loud voice screamed in Harry's ear, causing his eyes to snap open, and upon seeing a face several inches from his own, jump violently and ending up in a heap on the floor.

"Glad to see you so active at this time." Joelle said, her voice slightly amused.

Harry groaned from his spot on the floor before looking up, squinting at his clock.

"Five o'clock! You woke me up at 5! In the morning!" Harry asked, putting his head back onto the floor and trying to will himself to sleep.

"No falling asleep Harry! You need to get up so we can go running!"

"You can't even run." Harry's muffled voice reached Joelle's ears from beneath Harry's crossed arms.

"Can too. It just looks funny. It's more of a gliding thing." Joelle protested, still amused, "Now, up. We have stuff to do."

"Running should not count."

When Harry didn't move, Joelle came over and started to nudge him with her foot. The passing sensation sent shivers up Harry's spine and he jumped away, effectively waking him up.

"What did you do?" he asked as he rubbed his arms in attempt to get some feeling back in them.

Joelle shrugged, "Ghosts aren't supposed to be passed through and so I just stuck my foot through you. Now, find something you can go running in that's acceptable and off we go."

Harry finally found something that could be called running clothes and turned to Joelle, "Do you mind?"

Joelle shot him an amused look and rolled her eyes, "Sure thing Pretty Boy, just head downstairs when you're done." Then she floated downwards through the floor.

Harry watched her go and shivered once more before changing quickly.

He crept down the stairs, avoiding the squeaky one. Entering the kitchen, he was surprised to see his aunt up.

"Aunt Petunia? What are you doing up?" he asked hesitantly.

She turned to him and Harry was shocked to see the remnants of tears on her face. Then he got the biggest shock of his life as she rushed over to him and hugged him.

Harry stood as still as he could, entirely unused of the feeling of someone hugging him. The only person who probably hugged him was Hermione and she didn't do that that often anyways.

"Oh Harry!" his aunt sobbed. Harry looked around as suitably as he could for Joelle, looking for some back-up. When he finally caught sight of her, she was hanging out a fair distance away, looking at the two of them. The look in her eyes made him wonder though, he could almost swear it was something akin to longing…

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry!" his aunt wailed once more, this time taking his face in her hands as she looked intensely at him. Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable once more as his aunt stared at him.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered once more, "Go train, come back safely."

Harry now looked at her concerned, but when she nudged him out the door, he obediently left.

He stared at the front door for a moment before turning to Joelle who had followed him out, "What was that?"

"Your aunt did some soul searching." She said, the sadness in her voice obvious. Harry glanced at her curiously, wanting to know, but before he could ask, she shook her head, clearing away any sadness, "Now, off you go, once around the block, let's see how you do."

Harry sighed, resigning himself to the idea of running before taking off.

Barely four houses down Harry stopped, panting.

Joelle drifted next to him, "That was absolutely pathetic." She obviously didn't mince words, "You have absolutely no training and no idea of what to do. When running, unless you are in a sprint, you do not just take off as fast as you can, you have to pace yourself. Even out your breathing."

She waited for Harry to reply, but it took him a little bit, "In the department… of mysteries… I ran just fine…thank you very much."

Joelle actually waved her hand, "That would be called adrenaline. And fear. Of course you are going to run longer, faster. You had adrenaline coursing through your body. Even then, you still got out of breath quickly. You have to build up your stamina."

"And how is running going to help?"

"You have a lot bigger reserves. When in a duel, you won't tire out as quickly because you aren't putting as much energy into dodging. But don't worry; we'll worry about that later. Now, start jogging, slowly."

Harry shot her a look, showing how much he hated the idea before slowly taking off in a light jog. He soon was puffing.

"Don't puff." She advised, drifting alongside him, now she looked like a real ghost, Harry thought wildly, "Take deep even breaths."

Eventually, Harry had to stop, panting with a cramp in his side.

"Not bad," seeing Harry's look of triumph, she was quick to add, "For someone who sucks. Now head back to your aunt's house."

"Okay." Harry wheezed, starting the long trek back.

"No walking! Light, and I mean light jog back!" Joelle ordered. Harry didn't even have the breath to groan or make any other sort of arguments.

Joelle floated along with him this time, giving him encouragement so he didn't just collapse. When he reached his aunt's house, he bent over, his hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back.

Inside, he could hear voices arguing and he almost turned back around and started running again.

Joelle looked back at him with sympathy, "Don't worry, your aunt can control him. And if not, well…" Joelle's eyes flashed and Harry actually took a step back. Joelle's eyes could say a lot, and right now, they promised a world of hurt for his uncle if he attempted something.

Harry took a shaky breath and nodded, "Okay, I trust you." Harry then thought back in surprise at how true the statement was. He barely knew Joelle, and he trusted her inexplicitly.

"Ready?" Joelle asked, Harry got his breath back and stood up nodding, "Okay, I suppose if I were alive this would be when I would offer my hand for comfort, but I feel like it would provide the opposite."

Harry shrugged, not wanting to insult her outright. All it did was cause her to give a breath grin before motioning him to enter before him.

"You know, can't you go in first?" Harry asked desperately.

"Nope, makes the effect better and I can see your uncle's reaction without revealing myself to him. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Even if I have to transport you to Godric's Hallow or even to Potter Mansion to get you to safety." Joelle promised.

"Potter Mansion?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Not now, "she waved him off, "For now, we must deal with your uncle. Go on."

Harry gave her one last look before opening the door and stepping inside.


End file.
